Thursday night in the Cleveland organization was highlighted by the old and the new. At this point, Nellie Rodriguez putting up big numbers in Lake County has become old news, as the first baseman has spent most of 2014 doing just that. Casey Shane shutting down the New York-Penn League is new, however, as the 2013 sixth round pick was only recently called up from the Arizona League. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps all of the action in the organization as he takes you Around the Farm.

Grant Fink singled home Nellie Rodriguez in the top of the tenth inning and the Captains beat the Great Lakes Loons 6-5 on Thursday Night. The Captains are now 10-7 in extra innings and the Loons fall to 7-13 in extras. The Captains have won eight straight series.

This weekly feature piece here at the IBI specifically looks at some of the prospects that have maybe not had as much attention they deserve for a variety of reasons but who are interesting or are coming onto the scene. This week the IBI's Tony Lastoria decided to talk about Claudio Bautista, a position player who has had a strong season at Low-A Lake County but someone that a lot of people may not know much about. What kind of prospect is he? How is his bat and defense? What kind of future does he have? Tony provides all the details...

The Lake County Captains are going to the playoffs. It was a rough first half for the team, so rough that any thought of a playoff bid seemed long gone. Instead, the team bore down and crafted a successful second half, clinching a playoff spot on Aug. 27. The pitching has stepped up and the bats have produced, an obvious recipe for success. Now, the Captains will close the season out at home before they seek a Midwest League championship.

The playoffs may pass the major league club by this season, but playoff fever is in full effect on the minor league side, with the Lake County Captains clinching a spot in the postseason. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps the night, including Claudio Bautista's large role in the Captains' clincher, Francisco Mejia putting up a big night with the Scrappers, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Low-A Lake County Captains are on the verge of making the playoffs. The Captains roster has been in flux all season and features a good mix of legit high upside prospects along with some solid veteran role player types, but one player who has been there all season and might be the team MVP is first baseman Nellie Rodriguez. The IBI's Tony Lastoria talked with him earlier this season on the adjustments he has made over the past year-plus in the system.

Lansing scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to re-take the lead and went on to win the ballgame by 5-4 over the Captains on Sunday. In the inning, Lansing used three hits, a Captains error and a sacrifice fly to take the lead, and halted the Captains momentum. The loss snapped a five game Captains winning streak.

A ninth-inning rally propelled the Carolina Mudcats to a 7-5 victory over the Winston-Salem Dash Sunday. Torsten Boss erased a one-run deficit with a three-run homer to right as the Mudcats downed the Dash for the third consecutive day.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. After looking at the hitters last week, today we focus on the pitchers, including right-hander Shaun Marcum. Join Jim Piascik as he analyzes what Marcum's performance in Columbus tells us about his progress in Columbus and so much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.

Dorssys Paulino singled home Clint Frazier to cap a four run bottom of the fifth inning and the Captains went on to beat Fort Wayne 6-5. The Captains won on a walk-off error. Lake County batted around in the bottom of the fifth inning, and used four hits, a hit batter and an error to plate the four runs. The Paulino single gave the Captains lead.

Though his first exposure to Triple-A has not gone perfectly, Francisco Lindor looked good Friday night. Lindor had the first four-hit night of his Triple-A career and extended his hitting streak to three games with hits in 10 of his last 11. Join Arthur Kinney as he breaks down Lindor's Triple-A career to date and recaps the rest of the night in the organization as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Lake County Captains (32-27, 59-70) opened a seven run lead and they survived a late-inning comeback by the Fort Wayne Tincaps (26-34, 56-73) on Friday night. The Captains took the second game of the series 8-7. The magic number to clinch a playoff spot is now six with ten games to play.

In this week’s Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the strong rebound right-handed pitcher Mitch Brown has made this season and just how impressive he has been since early May. He also spends a lot of time looking at the Happenings in Arizona with a deep look into the spectacular showing Bobby Bradley has had and why it is so special on so many levels, he provides a ton of comments from Ross Atkins on the players in Arizona such as Bradley, Yu-Cheng Chang, Alexis Pantoja, Justus Sheffield, Grant Hockin, Jared Robinson and others, and more.

Clint Frazier and Carlos Moncrief highlighted the night for the organization on Thursday, but the pair are pretty different when it comes to their developmental status. As a young outfielder in Low-A, Frazier's performance on-the-field matters less than Moncrief's, who is an older player in Triple-A. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down what that means in addition to recapping the rest of the action from throughout the minor leagues as he takes you Around the Farm.

Clint Frazier had three hits and knocked in three runs as the Captains went on to beat Fort Wayne by a final of 8-7. Fraizer fell a homer shy of the cycle, however he also scored two runs. The Captains have won three straight ballgames.

The Lake County Captains are nearing the final stretch of the 2014 season. Last week, the team went 5-2, putting them 5 1/2 games out of first in the second half standings and 2 1/2 games behind the South Bend Silver Hawks.
The team is still 10 games away from elimintation, so the next two weeks will be incredibly interesting. Both the Captains and Silver Hawks have been winning as of late, the Captains posting a 7-3 record over their last 10 games and the Silver Hawks going 6-4.

Now. We always want things now. Better sooner than later. Yet, when it comes to prospects, it is often about the long game. D'vone McClure's stock has fallen after two subpar seasons in Arizona, yet the outfielder is still only 20 years old. Dace Kime may be a bit older than McClure, but the 22-year-old is only in his first full professional season. These players are not supposed to be finished products, and looking between the lines, there are positive signs for both. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps McClure and Kime's performances and the rest of the action from throughout the organization as he takes you Around the Farm.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!